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Angolan politician, feminist and expert in military telecommunications From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luzia Pereira de Sousa Inglês Van-Dúnem (born 11 January 1948) is an Angolan politician, feminist and expert in military telecommunications. She is a member of the Angolan National Assembly, as a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 11 January 1948 |
| Citizenship | Angola |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Known for | Secretary-General of the Organization for Angolan Women |
| Political party | People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola |
Van-Dúnem was born in Luanda, Angola, on 11 January 1948 and is the daughter of the Methodist minister, Guilherme Inglês.[1] In 1961 Inglês was assassinated by colonial forces in the aftermath of the March 15 uprising.[2] Her mother died shortly afterwards and she and her sisters joined the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA; People’s Liberation Movement of Angola).[1] From 1964 to 1967 she was in Kinshasa and Brazzaville with the MPLA; in Brazzaville, she undertook military training.[1] In 1968 she travelled to the Soviet Union for telecommunications training.[1] In 1973, she became head of the Communications Station in Cassamba.[2] During Angola's War of Independence, Van-Dúnem was a radio broadcaster in the 2nd and 3rd military political regions.[3][4] From 1976 to 1991 she was in charge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Angola Armed Forces' communications centre.[2][1]
Van-Dúnem married Afonso Van-Dúnem M'binda, a former Angolan ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and they had four children.[2] Whilst M'binda was appointed ambassador in 1991, Van-Dúnem also worked for the UN and coordinated the African Women's Group.[3][2] In 1999, Van-Dúnem was elected Secretary-General of the Organização da Mulher Angolana (OMA), which is the women's branch of political party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and was re-elected in 2005.[2][5][6] In 2008 she was elected to the Angolan parliament, in the first elections since 1992.[1] A champion of women's rights, she was a key proponent of the introduction of a law which meant that at least 30% of the proposed individuals on a political party's lists have to be women.[1] This has increased the representation of women in parliament and at the 2008 election, women made up 36% of elected members.[1]
In 2014, she became the first Angolan woman to be promoted to the post of General Officer of the Angolan Armed Forces; the promotion was decreed by President José Eduardo dos Santos.[7][5] In the 2017 general elections, Van-Dúnem was elected deputy from Angola by the National Electoral Circle.[3] In 2020 she was elected Regional Secretary of the Pan-African Women's Organization (OPM).[8]
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